After Wei Nan finished speaking, the once noisy hospital ward instantly fell completely silent.
Everyone stared at the grandmother and granddaughter with expressions of disbelief.
Wei Nan was staying at the factory hospital of the textile mill.
It was 1981, a time when the country placed great emphasis on heavy industry, and also the most prosperous period for the textile factory.
Wages were high, benefits were good, and as long as one member of a family worked at the textile factory, the whole family could live without worrying about food or necessities.
If both husband and wife worked at the factory, such a family could easily be considered upper-class in this city.
And yet, in a family like this, there were situations of selling children? Children who didn’t even have enough to eat?!
Wei Nan’s words left everyone in the ward, patients and visitors alike, utterly shocked.
Wang Sanhua’s triangular eyes shifted nervously, then she glared at Wei Nan with resentment.
Of course, she knew that what her eldest granddaughter had just said had called her out, if she didn’t respond, she would be scolded in front of everyone in this ward!
In her heart, Wang Sanhua cursed Wei Nan mercilessly, but she twisted her mouth and let out a wailing cry.
“Oh, you heartless girl! Grandma has lived this long and never had a single bowl of that so-called beef noodles, and now you dare to mention it!
If you haven’t eaten it, who can you blame? Only our family’s poverty! Who hasn’t lived through hard times?
I’ve been a widow since thirty, raising your dad, Second Uncle, and Third Uncle all by myself, living on chaff and coarse vegetables until now. Did anyone ever buy me a bowl of beef noodles?
You want to eat it? Grandma will go buy it for you! There’s a place in this hospital that sells blood, right? I’ll go sell blood now and buy you that bowl of beef noodles!”
She said this, blew her nose, and flicked the tissue toward Wei Nan’s bed, then made a motion to turn and leave the room.
Seeing this, before Wei Nan could even react, Wei Qiuxia exploded!
She grabbed Wang Sanhua without a second thought, paying no attention to hierarchy, and immediately started shouting back at her.
“How can you talk like that? Haven’t you any shame? At your age, how can you be so heartless! Your family was poor? Since my master married Xiao Nan’s dad, she never touched a single monthly paycheck herself! She gave all of it to Xiao Nan’s dad to send back home to you!
Everyone in the workshop knew about this, how could you deny it?!
My master earned forty-six yuan a month, Xiao Nan’s dad earned thirty-seven and a half. Together that’s over eighty yuan a month, but they could only keep twenty-five for themselves. And that already included ten yuan for rent!
Their family living expenses were only fifteen yuan. Think about it, how could anyone live on that in the city? Xiao Nan says she wasn’t full? That’s a lie!
Every month they had to send more than fifty yuan to you, month after month, for over ten years, until my master died! You think you were poor? To be honest, with a clear conscience, tell me, who was really poor?”
Remembering the days her master had lived through, thinking of how she had worked herself to exhaustion just to earn a little extra overtime money to make ends meet, finally dying from overwork at her post,
Wei Qiuxia’s voice choked up as she spoke.
She glared hatefully at Wang Sanhua, pointing a finger at the door. “Sell blood then! Go on, sell it! I guarantee no one will stop you! And remember, once you sell it, you better go buy Xiao Nan that bowl of beef noodles!”
Being scolded like this made Wang Sanhua drop the act of crying. Instantly, her fighting spirit flared up.
She wiped her nose with her grimy sleeve and started yelling back at Wei Qiuxia.
Wei Qiuxia was a model worker at the factory and had worked in the workshop for years. She was hot-tempered and loud by nature.
Wang Sanhua, on the other hand, had spent her whole life as a shrew, shouting insults was practically a natural skill for her.
Both women had years of pent-up resentment. Once they started fighting verbally, neither would back down.
The louder they got, the more heated it became, and it looked like it was about to turn into a physical fight.
“Stop shouting! If you keep yelling, both of you get out! What do you think this hospital is, a vegetable market?!”
Finally, the commotion drew the attention of the doctor.
A female doctor in a white coat strode over and sharply scolded the two of them.
Fear and respect for doctors was ingrained in everyone to the bone, even Wang Sanhua was no exception.
After being reprimanded, she didn’t dare talk back. She exchanged a glare with Wei Qiuxia, huffed, and fell silent.
The doctor sneaked a glance at her, her eyes full of barely hidden disdain.
She kept a stern expression and asked coldly, “Who here is a family member of Wei Nan in Bed Three?”
“She is!” Wei Qiuxia didn’t hesitate, pointing straight at Wang Sanhua.
Wang Sanhua froze, a sudden sense of dread rising in her chest.
But with so many people watching, she couldn’t deny it.
Reluctantly, she muttered, “I’m her grandmother. What’s wrong, doctor? Can she be discharged now?”
“Discharged? Discharged what? Are you kidding me! How are you people even acting as family members? This isn’t the old society, how could you let a child develop severe anemia? You never let her eat properly?
You’re her grandmother, right? Then come with me to the factory office. We’ll report this matter to the leadership together.
Wei Nan’s body is too weak, she must get nutritional injections. These injections are limited in supply; only high-ranking leaders can approve them. In our factory, only the director and the Party secretary are qualified.
Come with me and report this to the leaders. Let’s see who can allocate the quota to your family. If she doesn’t get these injections, your child will have serious problems later on!”
Hearing this, Wang Sanhua’s scalp went completely numb.
She didn’t fully understand what a “quota” was, but she clearly understood that these injections were extremely valuable.
Something this valuable certainly wouldn’t be cheap, give it to this little girl?
“Doctor… that injection… is it expensive? The factory will cover the cost, right?” Her throat tightened, and her voice trembled.
The doctor glared at her and sneered. “What are you thinking? That injection isn’t even available for purchase! It’s self-funded, about twelve and a half yuan per shot. Given Wei Nan’s condition, she’ll need two shots per week. That means at least ten injections.
And besides the injections, you’ll also have to pay for all her other medical expenses. Her parents are gone, and she isn’t considered factory personnel anymore, hospitalization won’t be reimbursed…”
Twelve and a half yuan per shot! More than ten shots!
By the time the doctor continued explaining the rest, Wang Sanhua could no longer hear anything, her whole body was trembling.
“Oh! Oh!” she suddenly clutched her stomach and began yelling.
“Ah, my stomach hurts so much! Doctor, wait! I need to go to the restroom first. When I get back, I’ll talk to you again!”
With that, she bent over, clutching her stomach, and ran toward the door without looking back, completely ignoring the disdainful expressions on the faces of the doctor and Wei Qiuxia.
Once Wang Sanhua left, she wasn’t coming back.
After finishing the IV, Wei Nan went with Wei Qiuxia to the doctor’s office.
“This is your Sister Ling, Ling Bailan, my best friend,” Wei Qiuxia introduced.
“Thank you, Sister Ling. Sorry for troubling you just now,” Wei Nan said, her face full of gratitude.
How could Wei Nan not recognize the help Ling Bailan had just given her?
When Wang Sanhua barged in, Wei Nan had quickly come up with the excuse about needing nutritional injections, and in an instant, the doctor had supplemented her lie perfectly, making it sound completely real.
If that wasn’t deliberately helping her, what else could it be?
Hearing this, Ling Bailan waved her hand. “It’s nothing, and it wasn’t entirely to help you. That grandmother of yours, I’ve never liked her, so I didn’t want her to have an easy time.”
“Exactly. Don’t be formal with Sister Ling. We both started at the factory together. When she first arrived, she also worked in the workshop and knew my master. In the future, if you have anything, just come to her directly. We’re all on the same side, don’t worry,” Wei Qiuxia added from the side.
Ling Bailan nodded in agreement.
That said, Wei Nan naturally didn’t want to cause trouble for anyone.
She remembered what Doctor Ling had said earlier in the ward and quickly asked, “Sister Ling, how much is my hospitalization fee? Where do I pay it? I’ll pay it myself.”
“No need,” Ling Bailan refused again.
She opened a drawer, took out a small kraft-paper booklet, and handed it to Wei Nan.
“This is your Employee Children’s Medical Certificate. I just helped you get it reissued.”
Her tone carried a hint of sympathy.
“This certificate is reviewed annually, and it’s only November now. Your dad just passed away, so you can still enjoy a few months of children’s medical benefits. After the new year, when you get a new certificate, it won’t apply anymore. But don’t worry, by then, your health should be back to normal.”
“Xiao Nan’s health isn’t in serious trouble, right?”
Although Wei Qiuxia knew that Ling Bailan had been working with her to scare Wang Sanhua, her words still made Wei Qiuxia’s heart tighten. Taking advantage of the moment, she quickly asked.
“She’s a bit anemic, but it’s not severe. I’ll prescribe some vitamins and fish liver oil. Make sure to take them on time. When you finish them, come back and see me again.”
Ling Bailan said this while scribbling quickly on a prescription pad.
“Sister Ling, could you prescribe a few more days of injections for me?” Wei Nan added quickly.
The act had to be complete.
Although Wang Sanhua had been scared away today, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t come back to probe again. A few extra days of injections would also give Wei Nan some breathing room.
Having experienced such a dramatic scene on the very first day after transmigrating, Wei Nan felt she needed to take things slow.
Ling Bailan immediately understood her meaning and agreed without a word.
“Alright, I’ll prescribe a few more days of iron injections for you.”